The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority hopes to begin demolishing 24 vacant buildings in the Commodore Perry Homes project before the start of this summer as it undertakes the first phase of a $260 million redevelopment of the housing project.
Buffalo’s public Housing Authority plans to build 405 new residential units in a new mixed-income neighborhood that transforms the complex in the Old First Ward that has been sitting vacant and boarded up for more than a decade.
- “This is a huge step forward in our journey to revitalize this area. The demolition of the BMHA Commodore Perry buildings clears the way for a better quality of life for the residents in this area,” Mayor Byron W. Brown said in a written statement.
- BMHA board of directors approved Thursday everything from a ground lease with Perry Homes I LLC and the Perry Homes 1 Development Fund Co. to the formation of affiliates to handle funding, construction and management of the new residences, as well as easements for demolition, land clearing, and staging and storing of construction equipment and materials.
- The breakdown of the complex funding package for the first phase of the transformation consists of loans, grants and equity contributions, including:
- $205 million in New York State Housing Finance Agency and New York Division of Housing and Community Renewal loans, plus a New York State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program equity contribution.
- $98 million from the Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.
- $6.1 million in grants from the City of Buffalo through ReStore NY and Community Block Grant programs.
- $6 million in capital funds from the BMHA.
- $5 million in Department of Housing and Urban Development RAD Rehab Assistance aid.
- $1.6 million in federal energy-efficient homes funds.
Brown’s Office of Strategic Planning on Thursday requested approval from the Common Council to use $5 million in ReStore NY funds the city obtained on behalf of the BMHA, as well as…
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